The Sweeter Banana Co-operative (SBC) - smart marketing of subtropical bananas in Western Australia

Carnarvon is located 900 km north of Perth, Western Australia, in the subtropics, on the edge of the desert. Carnarvon supplied all Western AustraliaRSQUOs bananas until refrigerated transport of bananas from tropical North Queensland started in the 1990s. Queensland bananas are twice the size, golden and prone to less skin blemishing. They became more popular with retailers, and demand for Carnarvon bananas reduced until up to 60% of Carnarvon product was being discarded as it did not meet quality standards. Carnarvon bananas were not sold in major retailers, price was determined based on supply from Queensland, not from Carnarvon, and sales prices were often below the cost of production. However, the climate in Carnarvon results in a smaller, sweeter and tastier banana than fruit grown in tropical North Queensland. Carnarvon growers, desperate to save their industry, founded the Sweeter Banana Co-Operative, owned by the 20 farmers who grow bananas on family-run properties. Initially established as a marketing group, the collaborative venture aimed to raise the profile of Carnarvon bananas and regain market share. Through a range of measures, including centralised packing, collaboration, improved quality, integration of the supply chain and investment in marketing initiatives, the co-operative has been able to increase the sale price and farm gate return to growers, becoming the premium banana in Western Australia. The Carnarvon banana is now a differentiated product where price, whilst linked to the production volume of Queensland bananas, is set based on local volumes. A range of initiatives has seen banana waste reduce from 60 to 5%. The Carnarvon banana in 1993 was the banana no one wanted to buy, and not stocked in major supermarkets. Today, it is the premium banana product in Western Australia, that consumers are willing to pay more for and that is sold at all major retail outlets. This paper covers the history of the co-operative, the key challenges, the vision and journey, key achievements, lessons learnt, and future plans.